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seeing some amazingly beautiful 3d cards, tons of embossing and die cutting and 3d florals....what the heck do you do with those? do you mail them? HOW??? or do you just hand them to someone? just curious....
tracyg
I shove that card into an envelope and slap a stamp on it! LOL! Actually, I do have a hard time getting some into an envelope. It always gets mailed with just one stamp. I have never had to pay extra postage.... If the card is sometimes really puffy I put it in a 5x7 envelope (most of my cards are 4x6). I hope this is somewhat helpful! :p
God Bless!
__________________ God Bless! Philippians 4:13
You can't spell Earth without "ART" well you can, but then it's just "EH. My (very small) Gallery
I keep most of my dimensional ones for hand delivery, or including in a parcel. But some people are worth the extra postage . Then I made a shallow box (or not so shallow - last time I was making one for DH to send a card, he said he was sure 1/2" was deep enough, but it wasn't!!) and use a bubble mailer. I'd hate for them to arrive squished!
I understand that. It all depends on your mail carrier. Our mail carrier seems to do a very nice job of keeping things safe. However, when I receive cards from certain people the envelope is really dirty and sometimes opened! It's sometimes best to mail "cheap" cards to friends to see how it looks when they get it. You can then decide to mail in an envelope or a bubble mailer.
God Bless!
__________________ God Bless! Philippians 4:13
You can't spell Earth without "ART" well you can, but then it's just "EH. My (very small) Gallery
I'm also one of those who add cards with lots of layers to a gift bag or attach it to a present. When mailing I put them in a bubble mailer to protect them.
Kitty747 had a wonderful tutorial on her blog.
Here it is Packaging Tutorial
This was the most helpful to me since I love mailing even the ones that have more embellishments on them.
The bulkier a card I make is, the more likely I am to enclose it with a present. I adore putting gems and pearls on cards, so if I think I am likely to send it via mail, I tend to go with smaller ones. I usually just put two stamps on those cards (my post office is REALLY picky!) and they get there okay. I have never mailed with any "protection", but might look into it since someone kindly posted a tutorial. Yay, something new to learn!
I have received a few cards that have had the embellishment "altered by delivery" but you still can appreciate what the sender intended.
One idea is to make one with all the big embellishments and then re-create using stickles or other alternatives that are more "mail friendly".
__________________ - Happigirlcorgi Shyla P Middleton
Fan Club Member
I shove that card into an envelope and slap a stamp on it! LOL! Actually, I do have a hard time getting some into an envelope. It always gets mailed with just one stamp. I have never had to pay extra postage.... If the card is sometimes really puffy I put it in a 5x7 envelope (most of my cards are 4x6). I hope this is somewhat helpful! :p
God Bless!
I learned the hard way. You are soooooooo lucky you've never been caught and had to pay extra postage. My son and his family live in San Francisco. That mail center is super vigilant. The very first card I made and mailed to my granddaughter with some depth was returned for additional postage. The USPS states that any envelope greater than 1/8th inch in depth requires an extra stamp.
I learned the hard way. You are soooooooo lucky you've never been caught and had to pay extra postage. My son and his family live in San Francisco. That mail center is super vigilant. The very first card I made and mailed to my granddaughter with some depth was returned for additional postage. The USPS states that any envelope greater than 1/8th inch in depth requires an extra stamp.
It looks like the depth can be 1/4", not 1/8". This is from the USPS site:
•Must be rectangular.
•Minimum size is 5" long x 3 1/2" high x 0.007” thick.
•Maximum size of 11 1/2" long x 6 1/8" high x 1/4” thick.
•Maximum weight is 3.5 oz.
•A letter will be charged a nonmachinable surcharge if it’s a square letter 5" x 5" or larger, it doesn’t bend easily, has clasps or similar closure devices, has an address parallel to the shorter dimension of the letter, is lumpy, or the length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5.
I also found this on the site:
First-Class Mail letters that have one or more nonmachinable characteristics will pay a nonmachinable surcharge. Customers can be unpleasantly surprised that they must pay extra postage when, for example, they mail a square greeting card. The Postal Service charges extra postage because mailpieces that are rigid, square, or unusually shaped, often jam postal equipment and are difficult to process. This costs the Postal Service time and money—and may also damage your mailpiece.
And while I'm on my postal soapbox, do not attach a stamp with clear tape if it's lost its "sticky." The machines cannot read the stamp through tape, and it will be sent back.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Last edited by buggainok; 02-05-2013 at 10:27 AM..
Your are so right about the 1/4th depth, Bugga I don't know why my brain had 1/8th of an inch registered.
Thanks for doing a cut and past of all the USPS guidelines.
You're welcome Kathlyn. My brain does stuff like that frequently - also my hands when I'm typing, lol.
What's so difficult about all these exacting postal regulations is that sometimes, whoever is processing the mail seems to pay no attention. Stuff gets through that is not in compliance, and sometimes perfectly packaged things get kicked out and sent back.
I mainly try to follow the rules, and if I'm in doubt, I slap on another stamp. If I'm going to the trouble to send something, I don't want it to arrive postage due, or get sent back to me.
I guess when you consider the millions of pieces of mail the PO processes, it's amazing they do as well as they do, and that we usually get our mail just fine.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
I pretty much hand deliver or tuck in a gift bag. If I am mailing a card, I make it purposely simple and flat. And even then, sometimes it has to have extra postage. Our Canadian PO is very particular. My cards are always lumpy... and I don't want them damaged. I have never 'bothered' with bubble wrap; those cards to be mailed are simpler, as I mentioned.
I have 6x6 inch envelopes that when DH was mailing them for me the Post Office charged around .95. i gagged when he told me how much when he came home. Then another time it was more than that surely because it was heavier. Later I found out that if I fold down the top of the 6x6 envelope, accounting for that with the card, I can get under the required size by 1/4 inch and pay regular postage. But, I do save the plastic cases that I get some stamps in or flowers or something and mail bulky special cards in them. I have to put them in a bubble mailer as well. That postage was around 1.65 I think...not sure. It turned out that that card turned into my sisters favorite and she hung it up on the wall! Oh, how I love to please these gals!
I think if I knew someone treasured them like that, I might be more inclined to send them a laboriously and expensively packaged card. It could be a gift in itself.
maybe a dumb question
